Where There's Smoke, There's Fire

A Case of Insurance Fraud with a Side of Stupid

In New York, a man claimed he was just sizzling some steaks on the stove, minding his own business, when all of a sudden the pans caught fire. The amateurish chef allegedly tried to put out the fire using a dishrag. Lo and behold, the rag caught fire, so he did what any normal-thinking person would do and took one of the flaming pans and threw it out the front door. The trouble was, that his aim must've been really bad (or really good) because the lit pan conveniently landed in the backseat of his convertible car that was parked near the house.

In the midst of the chaos and car now in flames, he then took the second pan of steak "a la fire" and in an attempt to also sling IT out the front door, he tripped over a box, which resulted in the fire-laden pan landing on a leather sofa, igniting it.

You can’t make this stuff up.

Suspicious of his story, a full investigation was conducted by law enforcement and he was charged and convicted with insurance fraud. He was left with no car, no home, no insurance money and a record. He was sentenced to 5 years probation and ordered to pay $38,000 in restitution.

Moral of the story:

Don’t try to rip off the insurance company and DEFINITELY don’t set your house and car on fire in the process.